Unforced Rhythms of Grace

Do you sing or have you ever played an instrument?  Believe it or not, I do sing, although mostly off pitch and in the shower.  And I have played an instrument.  In fact, I took 6 years of band.  I played the flute, now, I know you're probably thinking...'what happens at band camp stays at band camp!'  I was third chair from most of 5th grade through 10th grade, until I got kicked out.  The only two things I remember from my 6 years of lessons was: Mary Had a Little Lamb and B minor warm up exercise. Brilliant you say?  Why thank you! 

When it comes to reading music there are some basic things you must understand.  The backbone to any written musical masterpiece starts with the staff.  The staff in music, is a crucial to the organization of the notes.  A staff, consists of 5 horizontal lines and 4 spaces.  Both the lines and spaces are equally important because both hold notes.  In music, it isn't always about the noise but sometimes the absence of noise that speaks the loudest.  In our modern society, we've become accustomed to celebrating the noise but have neglected the silence.  It is often times in seasons of silence where the most valuable lessons are learned. 

Some of my most life changing experiences can be found in the deserts of my life, much like the life of Moses.  One of my favorite verses in the bible is spoken by Jesus himself.  “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message).

When we look at the life of Moses, we can see the unforced rhythms of grace at work through the cycle of grace.  There are four seasons in this cycle: Identity, Intimacy, Importance, and Increase.  If you've been serving God any amount of time, you can find yourself in any one of these seasons.  

1. Identity.  Identity, is a season of discovery, learning and humility.  I've been here several times in my life.  Three that come to mind: when I became a Christian, a wife, and a mother.  Upon entering the season of Identity, it is common to feel completely lost.  The things that once filled you, leave you feeling drained.  You are not sure who you are, where you are going, or what you're doing. 

When I became a Christian, I stopped hanging out with my old friends, I stopped listening to my old music, and living my old life, cold turkey.  It was an instant transformation.  I was in love with Jesus, I had made a choice to live life differently and purposefully.  It was an instant transformation, a real life miracle.  When I became a wife, I was a little more stubborn.  I resisted the reset button in my life because I felt that I'd established my identity as a single woman.  When I went from an "Espinoza" to a "Bumgardner,"  I felt as though I wasn't just changing my last name but my ethnicity.  Besides the stubborn and often pointless battles over meaningless differences on things like the proper way to grade cheese, I felt like I was doing most of the changing. And when I became a mommy, I could remember looking into my daughter's eyes and just staring at her for hours.  I was in love and amazed but after a few months of sleepless nights, I had forgotten who I was, aside from being a human milk machine. My life had changed forever.  It took a while to regain my footing from each of these seasons.  

Looking at Moses life, (Exodus 33: 12-19) he goes through a similar experience.  After leaving Egypt, he's second guessing what God's asked him to do. He says I can go if I know you're with me, but how will others know you are with me? I love what God says to him at the end of verse 19, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." In other words, 'you do your part, and I'll do my part.'  If God is asking you to take a step of faith, you are not alone, He walks with you.  

2. Intimacy. Intimacy is something that Moses not only understood but did well.  The bible says that he had a tent that was set up outside of camp calling it "The Tent of Meeting."  Even in the desert, he was intentional about spending time with God.  "The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend (Exodus 33:11).  In modern terms, it would be like having FaceTime with your best friend over your morning cup of coffee. My best friend lives in Colorado, which makes connecting difficult at times.  Because of the 4 hour time difference, munchkins we are raising and scheduling conflicts, we have to be intentional about spending time together if we want to remain best friends.  The same is true with the Lord.  We have to be intentional, even when if it's inconvenient. 

Abi and Zekey FaceTiming with their cousins

3. Importance. I've heard it said, let me see your checkbook register and I'll tell you what's important to you.  The things we spend time doing are the things we spend money on.  Harsh? A bit, but true.  Which is why the majority of my bank transactions are food related. The bible says, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (my paraphrase).  Looking at the life of Moses, he had to give up a lot in his lifetime, leaving the good life of living in the palace to wander in the desert doesn't sound like an upgrade, which is probably why he struggled so much with giving God his staff.  This was his comfort, his security, it was all that was left.  

Exodus 4:2-5, the story picks up on another interesting conversation between God and Moses.  "Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”  Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

When God asked Moses, what's that in your hand, it was a rhetorical question.  He not only knew what it was but what it meant to Moses.  The word, staff used in this passage, is different than the musical staff mentioned earlier.  In English a staff is defined as a stick or cane used as an aid in walking or climbing, can also be used as a weapon, and is often a symbol of authority.  The Hebrew word for staff, matteh also meaning branch (in vine).  Sound familiar?  (John 15) He is the vine and we are the branches.  

4.  Increase.  Increase in one thing means a decrease in another.  When God's influence is increased in our lives, our selfish ways must decrease to remain in balance.  According to John 15:5, because He is the vine and we are the branches, "If you remain in me, and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."  Don't we all want to live a more fruitful life?  So many of us think that we can start out in this season, we want to see the fruit without the labor.  We focus more on the doing than the becoming.  You can't fake fruit.  Growing fruit takes time, it takes work, it takes dedication, it takes patience, and it takes humility.  

Moses put in the time with God, he spent 40 years investing in his relationship with God, planting spiritual seeds and blessing God's people.  The Lord gave Moses a very specific blessing of grace in Numbers 6:24-26.  It goes like this:  "May God Bless you and keep you.  God make his face shine on you.  The Lord be gracious to you.  The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."   This is the blessing we should offer others. 

Whether you are in the season of Identity, Intimacy, Importance, or Increase,God is willing to not only walk you through that season but offer grace.  It's a selfless gift with no strings attached.  How will you respond to the unforced rhythms of grace?